


Let the Rain Fall, But Not Us

by Annide



Series: 911 Weeks [27]
Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Light Angst, Mentions of the Explosion, MichelleBlakeWeek2020, Rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:28:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27219421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annide/pseuds/Annide
Summary: Michelle, Nancy and Tim respond to what was supposed to be an easy call, then one of them falls off a cliff.
Relationships: Michelle Blake & Nancy Gillian & Tim Rosewater
Series: 911 Weeks [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1808203
Comments: 6
Kudos: 8





	Let the Rain Fall, But Not Us

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Michelle Blake Week Day 3: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work + Michelle with Tim/Nancy (working or not)

It was a beautiful day. The temperature was ideal to be spending some time hanging out outside. Michelle could see dark clouds in the distance, but they still had plenty of time before they got here. Or at least she hoped they did.

“How’s it going down there, Tim?” She said through her radio.

“Not great.”

“How bad?”

They’d responded to a call on this nice picnic spot on the edge of a cliff, with a fantastic view. This couple had come here exactly for this reason. They thought they could enjoy a romantic time together, and celebrate their wedding anniversary. And they did, up until one of them cut their hand with the cheese knife and the other passed out at the sight of blood. They were both fine now.

Michelle and Nancy had tended to the cut together. They’d cleaned it, applied butterfly stitches and wrapped it. They still needed to transport them so they could get a tetanus shot, since their last one had been too long ago.

Tim had taken care of the spouse. There was nothing really wrong with them, but they woke up with a start, accidentally pushing him off the edge of the cliff with a scream that gave the rest of his team chills.

Michelle and Nancy had called for backup and ran to the edge, but they couldn’t see him. Fortunately, he’d answered their fourth or fifth call on the radio. They’d lost count while their panic grew. Nancy had brought their patients to sit in the ambulance and wait while they dealt with this. They were stable and there was no hurry to go.

“Tim, how bad is it? You gotta keep answering me so I know you’re still alive down there.”

It had been a while since Michelle had felt such fear for a coworker. They couldn’t lose him. They’d barely gotten back to a good place, they’d just settled into a new team after the tragedy that took the others away. They’d been through so much together, Michelle couldn’t imagine him not being around anymore.

They hadn’t been on shift that night, but they remembered the call they’d gotten, telling them what happened, telling them the firehouse would be closed and they’d be transferred. Michelle, Tim and Nancy were all sent to different places, to work with different people. They still went out together every week, trying to pretend like there wasn’t this enormous hole in their hearts. Like they hadn’t been ripped away from their family, right after a tragic loss when they needed each other more than ever. They barely even saw Judd. They sent over food, they tried to talk to him, but he was dealing with so much worse and he wasn’t ready to be around them again. To be around the members of the 126 who usually worked a different shift than he did, the ones who were spared the worst of it.

“I’m holding on upside down by my foot that’s stuck in a tree. Oh, and I can see my left radius poking out. I tried to fix it, but I can’t quite put enough strength into it in this position.”

Michelle and Nancy shared a worried look. It was more than bad. He needed help now.

“Hey, Grace,” Nancy radioed dispatch again, “do you have an ETA on the team?”

“They’re fifteen minutes out. What is that I hear in your voice?”

“I’m not sure Tim has that long. Michelle went back to the ambulance looking for rope.”

“She’s not really thinking of doing what I think she wants to do, is she?”

“His foot could slip out of its grip anytime, or the tree holding him could break. We need to at least try to secure him.”

Grace sighed. “I keep thinking you paramedics are more reasonable than the firefighters, but clearly those guys have a bad influence on you.”

“We can’t lose him, Grace.”

“I know.”

Those two words held the weight of everything Grace had felt when she’d heard that explosion and lost contact with her husband. It held the weight of everyone they’d lost before and everyone they almost did. Michelle could feel the pain of her sister’s disappearance, of all those lost firefighters, of all those patients they couldn’t save, of Owen announcing his cancer, of TK getting shot, of that astronaut stuck all the way up in space with no hope of help coming to him. Those two words were enough for the three of them to remember all of it, and more, all the sad and tragic things they lived through and shared with one another to lighten their load. Two words, but a whole library worth of understanding.

“Michelle, wait, I should go.”

“No, I won’t let you risk your life. I’m the captain, this is my responsibility.”

Michelle had backed the ambulance closer, with the doors solidly closed for the safety of their patients inside. She’d tied one end of the rope to it and made herself some kind of harness with the other end. The look on Nancy’s face as she watched her get into position didn’t exactly inspire confidence, but the dark clouds were heading closer and they couldn’t take a chance on the others getting here too late.

“Ten minutes out.” Grace said.

Nancy grabbed the rope to hold for Michelle as she went down slowly. It made their hands too occupied for the radio, but they were more concerned with their rescue attempt anyway.

“Alright, Tim, Michelle is on her way. Keep talking to us, we need you to stay awake.” Grace said. She might be far, but she could still help and Michelle was grateful for her.

“I’m starting to feel really tired.”

“We don’t know how your weight might shift if you lose consciousness, so you can’t let that happen. Talk to me, about anything.”

There was a silence, followed by a groan of pain.

“Did you know Nancy’s my oldest friend?”

Michelle smiled. She loved hearing about her partners’ friendship. She kept going down and she knew she was getting closer because she was starting to hear Tim’s voice directly too, not just through her radio.

“I didn’t.”

“We met during training. She kicked my ass every day. She made me better because all I wanted was to be as good as she was, better maybe. I never got to her level though. She’s too good.”

“I’ve heard great things about your skills too.”

“Oh, I am really good. But these women I work with, way more badass than I am.”

“Nice to hear that kind of things from a man.”

“I’m not afraid to admit it. I’m the person at the 126 who will stay safe and alive to tell the tale of how everyone else recklessly ran into danger.”

One look down toward his voice and Michelle could see his boot. She couldn’t see him just yet. Only the boot securely lodged between two branches. She was hoping his foot wouldn’t slip out of it before she could get him out.

“You do work with people who have little regard for their own life, my husband included.”

“Judd doesn’t seem too bad next to these new kids. But Michelle putting my safety above hers might be the only way I’ll get away from here alive.”

“Tim, I’m here. Don’t move, I’ll go farther down to get some loose in the rope to secure you with.”

Michelle climbed back up to him holding the extra length of rope in her hand. She wrapped it around Tim’s chest. She radioed Nancy to help her back up. Slowly, Michelle managed to get Tim back in an upward position and dislodge his foot. Climbing became easier from the moment he could walk up on his own and they progressed at a good pace. Which was good because the sky was darkening over them.

“They’re driving up.” Grace informed them.

“Oh, sure, now that we’ve dealt with it all by ourselves, they get here.” Michelle teased, knowing the rest of the team would’ve synchronised their radios with them by now.

“Yeah, looks like we came all the way here for nothing.” Marjan said. “Nancy’s doing a great job up here.”

The combination of physical effort and worry had clearly worn Nancy a bit. Michelle could see the exhaustion in her eyes when they finally made it back up. It was subtle, hidden under a proud and relieved smile spreading quickly across her face. She ran over to them to come take a look at Tim’s arm just as the others were getting out of the fire truck behind her.

“Tim is good and the team is here. Thanks for your help, Grace.” Michelle said.

“Always a pleasure. You’re all family to me, after all.” Her job done, Grace disconnected. There were more calls for her to receive.

Michelle joined her team as Nancy reset the bone in Tim’s arm and wrapped it. He was fine. They were all fine. One of their own needed a trip to the hospital again, and things could’ve easily taken a bad turn, but everything would be just fine.

Relief washed over Michelle as she took place in the driver’s seat. Everyone was safely settled inside when rain starting pouring over them. It felt good and comforting the way water was released from the sky just as all the fear and worry of the day left their bodies. She always thought it was funny the way things worked out sometimes, how weather could parallel their emotions or influence them. She reflected on it as she stared through the rain and drove everyone to the hospital.


End file.
